Draft gear



Jun'e 24,

H. E. TUCKER www,

, Patented June kw1930 HERBERT; E. TUCKER,- `on vSOUTH@ BEND, INDIANA,

kmarinus'r"rifcnivrnNzr oogka CORPORATION 'orY ILLINoIs YDRAFI GEAR originar afipiielafipn n1d'fnny9,`1927,. semaine, 204,618;- niviaea mathislaiipneatiqn inea July 1a,`

i928, serial 119.292,468.'

The inventionv relates Vto draft gears 'i for railway cars of the type in which intercalated frlction plates are employed, andi moreY specifically'to gears 'of this type in which theV friction and cooperating 'elements aremainly housed within the; open end of a chambered follower or casing,- and thisapplication is a division of my application, Serial No. 204,618,

filed July 9, 1927. v

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred form of the embodiment of the invention,

Fig..1 is a detail, central, vertical,longiv tudinal section through the'gear, the parts being shown in-released position; andA Figs. 2 and 3 are details-of various of the gearelements.

. The forwarder open end portion ofa f chambered follower or casing is shown at 10.

This casing is of common construction, and it will be understood that its rearward end, notV shown, isas usual closed by a plate which may be either integral or 'separate from the remainmg portion. The opposing follower 11 is shown as ak plate. f The two followers will be enclosed within a suitable formof yoke,

notshown. Y ,f y The friction plates, are arranged in two A groups, each group cooperating with the wall "lac of the casing 10- which walls may constitute the top and bottom of the casing, or its sides. Each group of friction plates is composed of one or more relatively short plates 12 having lateral lugs 13 for. interlocking with ribs as 14 formed across the inner faces of the walls of the casing which connectthe walls against which the plates are seated; and aset of relatively longer plates, one or more in number,

.Y yas 126, which are not interlocked with the relatively thereto, being restrained only by' casingbut are free to move longitudinally their frictional engagement with other parts of the gear. Bothsets of plates are free to move transversely of the gear in a direction Plates 126r nor-A normal to their flat faces. mally project beyondthe open end of the casing 10 to within a shortdistance of the plate 11. At least one plate of each group, Y, i. as 15, istapered toward kits-outer end. `50

A pusher element138 kis seated against the ssIG'Non To 'UNIvERsALDnAFT f plate 11 'and may, shown, be square vin I cross section having a stem las 137 projecting centrally from lits inner face into the'casing` 10, this stem having parallel side faces.

Seatedl against :the inner' `plate Vof each group is a friction shoe 125 having on its'invner face 4adJacent each end a wedging surface as 127, 128, the formerfbeing linclined for-Vv wardly, that fis toward the inner endv of the casing 150,v and outwardly, Vthusaway from they aXis ofthe gear, thelatter--being inclined in the opposite direction; Y n Y Seated against each of the parallel faces of the stem 187 is a Shoal-31 having adjacent each of its ends'wedgingfaces 129, 133., both of which are inclinedforwardly and-ontwardi "ly, the former having the vsame inclination as t and bearing upon kthe wedging surface127 of the shoe k125. l

y,A pair v*of triangular wedge `blocks '134 are seated' upon the shoulders 136which constituteI the inner faceof'the element 138, one

ateach side of the stem y137, their apeXes eX- tending into the space between the elements 125 and 131),their inclined faces 135 and 132 cooperating withthe facesr128 and1-33 theret fend ofthe casing'lO." f l y There is shown a retaining bar 139 as eX- tending through a 'pocket in the stem 137 for holding the parts in assembled relation'prior v:tothe installation of the gear, the bar 139'be`- ing held kagainst longitudinal displacement byjmeansof a ball v'141 seated in a recess 142 in theibar andheld in place by a spring 17 l reacting vagainst the plate 118 closing the end of the pocket in thestem, This retaining ele- '5v 9 l ment is not claimed vasfy a part of the inventionL"` "Normally `the parts yassume Athe positions shownfin Fig. 1', lthe, inner ends of the ele` f ments 13T and the plates 126 being in engage'- ment with the spring seat 16`and the outer 105 ends ofthese plates being adjacent to but out of contact witlithe follower plate 1l. Upon compression of the gear in buff, the followerVV 11 moves baclwardly carrying 'with it the thrust element 188 and the wedge blocks 134C. The elements 131 are also moved backwarcily because of the blunt angle lof their engaging faces with the blocks 134, carrying'back'ward-V vy vly the spring seat 16against the resistance of fio the springs 142 and moving it away from theA inner ends of the plates 126.V j j Y yBecause yof the moreacute Vangle of the'coperating ,wedgingifa'ces ofthe blocks 134 and theshoes`125the 'latter tend to lag, .andfconif pressive "plates, the ,elements 125, however, being Vurged forwardly by thewedging action, their inner ends being,maintained;` in engagement, with the inner ends of the elementsll. The spring seat 16 is carried away from the :plates 126. Vhen the follower plate 11 comes in' Contact with the plates 126,; they ,are forced v bach betweenV the shorter friction plates and stored to'nornial position,A

as the closing of the gear continues', the pressure upon the two groups of k friction plates is augmentedv because of the tapered forni ofl tlie'plates 15.

Upon release, the springs move backward ly the elements 131and 125,;the release being I facilitated by the tapering'forni of theplates 15 andwhen the spring seat againcomes into force is yapplied to the friction V seat engaging the inner endsof ,the wedge plates and engageable with the float-ing plates,

and springs reacting between suchqseat and the end Vwall ofthe chainbered follower.V f

v 2. In a draft gear in combination, a casingi an opposed. follower, two,r groups ofi-intercalated friction plates within the casingfa Y le thrust element seated against the named foli lower and having forward-ly faciiigdslioulders and aforwardlyvprojecting stem having parallel sides, friction wedge shoes engaging l*the plates, triangular wedge blocks, seated on the shouldersof thethrust member and Ven-Y l gaging wedging faces-of the shoes, alfpl'at'e seated against eachof the named faces of the stein and having nspreading ,vv/ edging l faces cooperating with the shoes and wedgebloclrs,

and spring lmeans resisting the advance of the plates and for restoring-the ,gearelenients to normal positionlupon release.

Y HERBERTLEMTUCKER,i

j In testimony whereof I afx engagement with the plates 126, they are ie-v Y Y l y The `operationof the gear in isthe saine exceptin a reverse direction.;` Y, .As the parts become worn, ldue tothe fric tional engagement of the platespthe elements 131 are moved outwardly suiiiciently to takeV up fall ofthe slack l with-out VYmaterially reducing the `tension of thesprings.y

I claim as my invention:

1. In arvdraft gear in combination, la chain- 'Y bered follower,anfopposed plate follower, f two groupsof intercalated friction plates housed within the chambered follower,l one lset of each group being anchored against lonoitudinal movement andthe other set being 7 Y lno Yoating andv normally projecting'froin the cliainbenone plate of'each group being tapeied towards its outer end, a pair offriction shoesbearing respectively upon theinner plate of each group,lsuch' shoes having op- `positely inclined wedging; faces, a'kpusher eleinentseated against the plate follower and having a pair of forwardly facing yshoulders and a stein projecting forwardly from such shoulders and having parallelside walls,.`a wedgeV plate seated dagainst each vof such walls r,and having lforwardly 'and outwardly'- `in Aiso 

